Lou Monte - Success

Success

Monte's first big hit came in 1954, with the release of his version of "Darktown Strutters' Ball". In 1962, Monte would release his first million-seller, "Pepino the Italian Mouse", which was awarded a gold disc. Sung in a pastiche of both Calabrese and English, "Pepino the Italian Mouse" tells the humorous tale of a mischievous mouse who lives within the walls of a man's kitchen and who comes out at night to eat cheese, drink wine, frighten Lou's girlfriend when she comes over...and befriends the cat, sent out to catch him.

The "flip side" of the single featured another Italian-American hybrid novelty song called "What Did Washington Say (When He Crossed The Delaware?)." The song presumes that George Washington was cold, tired, hungry and without a change of underwear on his famous trip. At one point in the song, "Washington" complains that the pizzas his wife Martha baked were as "cold as ice". His solution? "Sell them to the Indians for only half the price." He then asks his boatsmen to row faster because "tonight I'm posing for my picture on the dollar bill."

Monte's other famous novelty records include "Dominick the Donkey", a Christmas staple in many Italian-American households and "Pepino's Friend Pasqual (The Italian Pussy-Cat", the sequel to "Pepino" followed by "Paulucci, the Italian Parrot" and Paul Revere's Horse (Ba-Cha-Ca-Loop). "Lazy Mary," a remake of the traditional Italian song "Luna Mezzo Mare", tells the tale of a conversation between a young woman who wishes to be married, and her mother. The somewhat risque song mixes English and Italian verses. The two use double entendre to compare the occupations with the sexual appetities of the various suitors. It peaked at number 12 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart. "Lazy Mary" is routinely played during the seventh inning stretch at New York Mets games (both at Shea Stadium and now at Citi Field), immediately after "Take Me Out To The Ballgame".

"Dominick the Donkey" has enjoyed more recent success in the UK, thanks to its extensive use on The Chris Moyles Show in reference to Newsbeat newsreader and regular show contributor Dominic Byrne around the Christmas period. In the week leading up to Christmas of 2011, the show hinted at users to download the song from iTunes and Amazon. This led to the song being the number two song on iTunes between 19 December 2011 and 25 December 2011. "Dominick the Donkey" reached number 3 in the midweek charts on 21 December 2011, before being confirmed at number 3 in the UK Official Christmas Chart for 2011, only beaten by the X-Factor winners (Little Mix) and a charity record by the Military Wives.

Monte made TV appearances on syndicated programming such as The Mike Douglas Show, The Ed Sullivan Show and the Merv Griffin Show.

Monte resided in Lyndhurst, New Jersey where his fan club was based. He contributed to the founding of the Lou Monte, Jr. leukemia laboratory at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in memory of his son who died of the disease at age 21.

Monte's 1971 recording "I Have An Angel In Heaven" was highly popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s satellite version of the "Music Of Your Life".

Monte is interred in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. After his death his surviving son continued to sing his songs in concert for some time. His son, Ray Monte, is a professional drummer who plays for many bands, including the New York Showband.